The approval of a plan to build a fish farm in Vietnam’s central city of Da Nang has led to wary views from experts who fear the proposal ignores negative impacts on the local environment and tourist industry.

The project calls for a fishing port and the surrounding area in Tho Quang Ward, Son Tra District to be transformed into a near-20-hectare fishery center.

Senior Vietnamese officials are split on their opinions of the project's potential impacts on the local environment and tourist climate.

Da Nang City is considered by Vietnam’s prime minister and the country’s urban authority as a major fishery center due to the Hoang Sa fishing ground, one of the country’s major fisheries, according to Nguyen Phu Ban, director of the municipal Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The fishing center is expected to host a specialized fishing area, complex logistics, an international fish market, sections for repairing ships and boats, and fishery training, Ban said.

However, a current problem facing the proposal is the pervasive odor in the area, which Ban said emanates from companies in the area and will dissipate once these businesses are penalized.

“I think the fact that the fishing port is positioned in the urban area doesn’t matter. The heart of the problem is how to manage it. Seafood, of course, gives off a distinctive smell. It’ll be totally fine if we can suppress it,” Ban said.

The official also affirmed that no pollution will occur at the site if Vietnam is able to employ the same modern technology used by Japan at similar centers in urban areas, such as Tokyo.

That comparison is lame, according to Truong Quang Nghia, secretary of the Party Committee in Da Nang, since Japan has been trading at the Tokyo urban fish market for over 100 years.

“I want to ascertain what the long-term vision of Da Nang is. If the central government invests hundreds of millions of dong, it’s likely that thousands of millions of dong must be spent on tackling environmental problems. More importantly, the planned configuration of the city may be damaged,” Nghia said.

The secretary added that many local leaders have not supported the fishery center project from the beginning, and expressed his worry about the implications of unpleasant smells on the city’s tourism industry.

“As Da Nang chooses to grow based on tourism and industry, we have to move in that direction,” he said.

A view about the negative effects is likewise held by Tran Chi Cuong, deputy director of the Da Nang Department of Tourism.

The Tho Quang fishing port, upon which the new fishery center develops, has shown persistent environmental problems over the past many years.

He recommended deliberation in organizing the center in order to preempt such situations in the future.  

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!